Nondestructive (NDT) techniques are frequently used to evaluate manufacturing quality and integrity of mechanical components and structures. One such technique is magnetic particle inspection (MPI) which provides an indication of a flaw, such as irregularities or discontinuities, that may exist at or near the surface of a component, structure or other article fabricated from a ferromagnetic material. During an MPI, the article is subjected to a magnetic field generated by an outside source such as a coil or by passing an electric current through the article. The presence of a surface or near surface flaw causes a leakage in the magnetic field in the area of the flaw. Magnetic particles are applied to the article which are then attracted to the area of leakage in the magnetic field. The magnetic particles then accumulate in the area to form a flaw indication. The indication can then be used to evaluate manufacturing quality of the article.
MPI equipment used to generate the magnetic fields includes a bench unit that holds a single article during the inspection process. During use, the MPI equipment is configured so that the article is subjected to a magnetic field oriented in a first direction. The equipment configuration is then changed in order to provide a magnetic field oriented in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction to increase the likelihood of the detection of any flaw in the article. However, changing the equipment configuration is time consuming thus hindering productivity in a high volume production environment.